The U.S. has appointed long-time North Korea policy official Joseph Yun to serve as the temporary head of its embassy in South Korea, as the alliance faces headwinds from the ongoing political crisis in Seoul and Donald Trump’s return to office.

The move comes as a senior White House official criticized ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol’s “shocking” and “wrong” declaration of martial law, while emphasizing the importance of the alliance.

Yun, the former U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, arrived in South Korea on Saturday, a day after the State Department confirmed his appointment as ad interim charge d’affaires at